Gay Mexican Prisoner Blinded in Vicious Jail Attacked

A gay prisoner in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, reportedly had both of his eyes gouged out in an attack by his cellmate on Dec. 23, Gay Star News reports.

Jonathan Franco Hector Martinez, 25, was allegedly left untreated for over an hour after cellmate Jose Francisco Aguilar Hernandez attacked him. Hernandez was placed with Martinez after Martinez was accused of robbing a taxi driver. Hernandez apparently believed Martinez was masturbating in their cell, which allegedly sparked the attack.

According to GSN, Hernandez, who was reportedly on drugs at the time, beat Martinez, causing him blunt force trauma injuries. He then ripped out both of Martinez's eyes with his fingers and then tried to eat them. Prison staff stopped him from doing so, however.

Martinez is recovering in Western Medical Center and the Regional Prosecutor of Justice is investigating the attack after "several irregularities emerged," GSN writes.

The victim was allegedly left in a pool of his own blood on the cell floor for over an hour after Hernandez attacked him because the prison doctor was eating breakfast. The security cameras in the cell were not working at the time of the incident.

The ambulance workers who took Martinez to the hospital said that when they arrived to the scene, no one had done anything to treat Martinez's wounds. According to Martinez's boyfriend, Jose Guadalupe Barajas Castillion, the prison officials did not explain the severity of his injuries until hours after they told him he had been in a fight with a cellmate.

"I thought, what could have happened?" Castillion told Mexico newspaper SDOnoticias.com (via GSN). "He was supposed to be in a safe place. Someone must be held responsible for compensation because he will no longer be able to work, and will not be able to get around by himself. He worked as a driver."